Ken Bridge
55°04′52″N 4°7′52″W / 55.08111°N 4.13111°W
Ken Bridge | |
|---|---|
 Ken Bridge | |
| Coordinates | 55°04′52″N 4°07′52″W / 55.081°N 4.13123°W |
| Carries | A712 road |
| Crosses | Water of Ken |
| Heritage status | Category A listed building |
| Characteristics | |
| Material | Granite ashlar |
| Total length | 110 metres (360 ft) |
| No. of spans | 5 |
| History | |
| Architect | John Rennie the Elder [1] |
| Construction start | 1820 |
| Construction end | 1821 |
| Location | |
 | |
The Ken Bridge is a road bridge about 0.8 kilometres (0.5 mi) north east of New Galloway in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, which carries the A712 road over the Water of Ken towards Balmaclellan. Designed by John Rennie shortly before his death, it has been designated a Category A listed building.
History
[edit]Built between 1821 and 1822 to a design by Rennie,[2] it replaced an earlier bridge in the same location, also by Rennie, which was completed in 1811 but destroyed by flooding shortly afterwards.[3] Rennie died on 4 October 1821, before the construction of the bridge was complete.[4]
Description
[edit]The bridge is entirely made of granite ashlar, roughly finished for the most part, with polished granite surfaces on the inner faces of the parapet and on the soffits.[5] It curves along its length, and has a total span of 110 metres (360 ft), with the widest central arch spanning approximately 30 metres (100 ft).[5] Its piers are supported on the riverbed by round-nosed cutwaters, and the spandrels between the arches are decorated with pilasters.[5]
The bridge has been praised for its aesthetic qualities. Architectural historian John Gifford, writing in the Dumfries and Galloway volume of the Pevsner Architectural Guides series, described it as a "long elegant curve of granite ashlar",[1] and John R. Hume, the former chief inspector of historic buildings for Historic Scotland, wrote that it was the "most elegant of Rennie's bridges in the South-West... ...five graded segmental arches leap the Ken's floodplain in a long, low streamlined curve."[6]
The bridge now carries the A712 road towards Balmaclellan.[3] It was designated a Category A listed building in 1971.[5]
References
[edit]- ^ a b Gifford 1996, p. 468.
- ^ DSA Ken Bridge.
- ^ a b Canmore.
- ^ DSA John Rennie.
- ^ a b c d Historic Environment Scotland & LB3316.
- ^ Hume 2000, p. 147.
Sources
[edit]- "Ken Bridge". Canmore. Retrieved 18 February 2021.
- Historic Environment Scotland. "Ken Bridge (Category A Listed Building) (LB3316)". Retrieved 18 February 2021.
- Gifford, John (1996). The Buildings of Scotland:Dumfries and Galloway. London: Penguin. ISBN 0140-71067-1.
- "Ken Bridge". Dictionary of Scottish Architects. Retrieved 18 February 2021.
- "John Rennie". Dictionary of Scottish Architects. Retrieved 18 February 2021.
- Hume, John R (2000). Dumfries and Galloway: An Illustrated Architectural Guide. The Rutland Press. ISBN 1 873 190 344.